Even I am getting tired of writing about ACORN today (honest!),
but another story came over the transom.
Here we go:
I have learned that after testifying before the House Judiciary
Committee on March 19, Republican National Lawyers Association
(RNLA) Vice President Heather Heidelbaugh today responded to
a request for additional information about ACORN from Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), a member of the committee. (letter
available here as
PDF)
Heidelbaugh had testified at the hearing about ACORN's many
misdeeds. At the time, committee chairman John Conyers
(D-Michigan) said
the allegations were "a pretty serious matter" and that an
investigation was warranted. Heidelbaugh's testimony about
ACORN was largely based on evidence provided by ACORN
whistleblower Anita MonCrief in
her testimony in a 2008 Pennsylvania lawsuit called Moyer v.
Cortes. (331-page transcript available
here as PDF)
Heidelbaugh had testified in Congress that the nonprofit group
violated a host of tax, campaign finance, and other laws. She
said the presidential campaign of Barack Obama sent ACORN its
"maxed out donor list" and asked two of the avowedly nonpartisan
group's employees "to reach out to the maxed out donors and
solicit donations from them for Get Out the Vote efforts to be
run by ACORN." The New York Times had the donor
list story but editors there spiked it the month before the
election, she said, repeating the assertion on "The O'Reilly
Factor" two weeks later.
Here are the two questions posed by Lee and the short versions of
the answers from Heidelbaugh (as provided in an RNLA press
release available
here):
Q. Do you think ACORN staff was simply untrained and that
there was no systematic attempt by ACORN to engage in voter
fraud?
A. Based on the evidence I have seen, my opinion is that the
ACORN staff were not adequately trained to conduct proper voter
registration drives. Further, I question whether the system of
compensation in place for the staff obtaining voter
registration cards both for the worker and for ACORN encouraged
voter registration fraud. It is also my opinion based on the
evidence that I have seen that it was not a simple matter of
poor training. Lastly, it is my opinion based on the evidence I
have seen from the King County Settlement Agreement, the
testimony in the Pennsylvania case, and the news reports from
other criminal investigations that ACORN as an organization has
either willfully failed to properly train its workers or
grossly negligently failed to train its workers. Further
information is needed in order to determine which is closer to
the actual scenario. In addition, since ACORN operated voter
registration drives in so many states, each state or local
operation may differ in its training efforts.
Q. Do the workers with ACORN get paid based upon how many
registrations they complete?
A. There have been widespread allegations from former ACORN
employees that ACORN does pay its employees on a per
registration basis and has imposed a quota system upon its
employees. These allegations have been raised in states
including Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Washington. These allegations have been the
basis of charges brought against ACORN representatives in the
state of Nevada.
If you wish to read Heidelbaugh's complete answers to Rep. Lee,
they are available
here as a PDF.
On May 4 Conyers mysteriously
backed away from plans for a probe the same week a raft of
new voter registration fraud charges were laid against ACORN and
its ex-employees in Nevada and Pennsylvania. Last week
Conyers cryptically remarked that he wasn't going to proceed
with an investigation because "the powers that be decided against
it." He refused to elaborate.
Incidentally, the chairman of the RNLA, David
Norcross, was on the "Glenn Beck Program" last night talking
about ACORN, the Secretary
of State Project, and their role in electing Al Franken, the
incoming second Democratic senator representing Minnesota. Here
is the video clip:
Note: On July 3, I obtained the above referenced
Jackson Lee letter dated June 17 and added a link to it above.
